New start old faces
by GinaGold fan
Summary: 3 This is the sequal to A past so dark. This is to introduce the character Alex MacDonald properly to Sun Hill. Will also have some SP. Please review as your comments are always taken on board.x
1. Chapter 1

_**Hi everyone. Thank you to all those who reviewed A past so dark. This is the next story, introducing Alex Macdonald properly to Sun Hill. Please review this story as your comments are always welcomed. Thanks again.X**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story apart from Alex, her daughters and her sister Liz. **_

She walked into the station and approached the reception. There was a young police officer standing behind the desk doing some paperwork. The officer looked up and saw the young woman standing in front of the desk.

"Can I help you?" The officer asked.

"Hi, I'm in to see Gina Gold please." The woman replied.

"Who shall I say is looking for her?" The PC said as she lifted the receiver to the phone.

At that moment Smithy walked in through a side door. He saw the woman standing in the front office and a smile creased his face.

"That's ok PC Sharp I'll take her through." He said as he buzzed her in.

"Alex, good to see you. How you doing?" He asked as he hugged the new Sergeant.

"I'm great thanks Smithy. I'm really looking forward to working again. Sitting at home is all very well but it certainly piles the pounds on." Alex laughed.

Alex had been on maternity leave for the last six months. She was a Sergeant at Barton Street but she felt uncomfortable being there after her husband died. He had also been an officer at Barton Street, but died whilst he was dealing with an incident. Alex had been expecting their third daughter at the time; she went into premature labour the day her husband died, due to shock. She had decided to come back to work but have a fresh start at Sun Hill.

"Come on, I'll take you round to Gina's office. She's been really looking forward to working with you again, we all have." Smithy said as he led her through the station.

Smithy knocked on the door to the office and opened it to see Gina sat at her desk. Gina smiled when she saw Alex standing in the doorway.

"Hello you. How are you doing? All set for a hard days work?" She joked.

"I'm about as set as I'll ever be." Alex replied with a smile.

"Come on I'll show you to the locker rooms. We haven't had morning briefing yet so I'll introduce you to those who don't know you. Second thoughts, I don't think there's a single person in this nic who doesn't know who you are." Gina added.

At the morning briefing, Gina waited for everyone to pile into the room. Once everyone was settled she started the announcements.

"Morning everyone. Now there are a couple of things before we start the briefing. First of all, thank you to all those who stayed late last night to deal with the football fans. I know that it took along time to get the statements, and the situation was very volatile, but it was appreciated."

"You see they wouldn't have this problem if they supported West Ham." Smithy said smugly, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, they wouldn't have this problem because West Ham are crap, and no-one would dare to admit that they support them." Alex piped up. She enjoyed winding Smithy up, he was so easy.

"Thank you for that Alexandra. And my other announcement is sat right in front of me. Most of you know Alex MacDonald from Barton Street. She's taken over as our new Sergeant." Gina introduced the new Sergeant to the team.

After the briefing Tony, Reg and June walked over to Alex. They had known Alex since she was a little girl. Alexs' Grandfather had been the Chief Superintendent at Sun Hill before Charles Branlow took over. Alex used to head round to the station after school or during her lunch break. Alex had seen many changes at Sun Hill, and many officers pass through its doors, now, after nearly fourteen years in the service, it was her turn at Sun Hill.

"Well Alex it's about time you came here, just where you belong eh?" Tony said as he gave the young Sergeant a hug.

"Absolutely Tony. Granted I spent more time here than I ever did at Barton Street; but I'm here now."

"Well it's really nice to have you here, and we'll be sharing an office, which will prove interesting." June said, also hugging the younger officer.

"How are those girls of yours doing?" Tony asked.

"They're fine, we all are. It's taken us a while to get here but we're back on track now. Seems funny coming back to work though." Alex sounded a little sad. She was trying not to let her husbands' death affect her anymore, but sometimes she just couldn't help let her emotions get the better of her.

Tony saw the look on the younger officers' face. He placed his arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"We know it's been tough, but if you ever need to talk, we're always here for you." Tony said.

"Thanks, you have always been good to me. Even when I used to come round and annoy you." Alex replied.

June smiled. She remembered when Alex used to come round as a little girl. She was always asking them questions and telling them how she was going to be a police officer when she left school.

"Well we'd better get to work before Gina comes looking for us, hadn't we?" Alex said.

The four officers left the briefing room and walked down the corridor or out into the yard. Alex headed for Ginas' office.

"So Gina, what's first on the list today then?" Alex asked as she entered the Inspectors office.

"Well, first I thought I would introduce you properly to the Superintendent."

"Ok then, shall we head up then?" Alex asked, eager to get going.

"Yeah absolutely." Gina said as she walked round her desk. "It's really good to have you here you know Alex." Gina said.

"Well it's really nice to be here." Alex replied as they walked out of the office. They headed up the stairs towards the Superintendents office.

Gina knocked on the door and entered the office, closely followed by Alex.

"Sir, you remember our new Sergeant Alex MacDonald." Gina said as she introduced Alex.

The Superintendent offered his hand to the new Sergeant. "Of course, it's really nice to have you on board Sergeant MacDonald."

"Please call me Alex; Sergeant MacDonald sounds too formal for me." Alex replied as she took her Superintendents hand.

Alex, Gina and the Superintendent sat for a good hour discussing Alexs' role. At Barton Street Alex had been a community relations officer. This meant that she had been in contact with parole officers and had had a close relationship with residents on some of the estates. John Heaton was very keen for Alex to continue this role.

Even though there were officers in the community support unit (Formerly known as VPU), Heaton wanted a uniformed officer to help out, especially one as experienced as Alex.

"This of course won't be your main duty, but it would be good if you continued with this role. You've built up a good rapour with some of the neighbourhood watches in the area as well as the residents. Are you quite happy with this?"

"Absolutely Sir. Will I be working along side the community support unit or individually?" Alex asked. "I don't mind if you would like me to work along side them, but, I did work on my own most of the time when I was at Barton Street." She explained.

"No you can work on your own, just make sure you keep CSU updated with any developments."

"Of course Sir, that's not a problem." Alex said. She had really enjoyed being the community relations officer. She had made a real success of it and made a number of friends through the role.

After their meeting with the Superintendent, Gina and Alex walked back down towards the Sergeants corridor. They were discussing their plans for the day.

"I thought I would pair you with Smithy today. You can go out in the area car and then I'll come and join you later. How does that sound?" Gina explained.

"Sounds great to me Gina. So does this mean I now have to refer to you as Ma'am?" Alex asked with a mischievous grin.

"Well you never referred to me as Sarge, so why should you refer to me as Ma'am? Besides, I think it would sound strange coming from you." Gina replied, smiling back.

"Well that is true."

At that moment, Smithy appeared from round the corner.

"Are we all set then? Only I would like to get out of this place sometime today." He said.

"Ooo, get you, grumpy sod." Alex joked. Both Smithy and Alex just smiled at each other.

They had known each other for nearly ten years, so each knew just how to wind the other up.

"Come on then, we'd better go rid Sun Hill of its criminal scum." Alex said as she and Smithy made their way towards the yard. "We'll see you later Gina." Alex shouted back.

"Yeah see you later." Gina replied as she headed into her office.


	2. Chapter 2

Smithy and Alex had been driving round for a while. Everything was pretty quiet so they thought they would get a quick coffee.

"It's your turn to buy." Smithy said to Alex.

"Oh yeah, and how did you work that out?" Alex replied glaring at him.

"Well, you are the newbie and it's only right that you buy. After all, you want to impress your new colleagues don't you?" Smithy said, his voice dripping with laughter and mocking.

Alex just rolled her eyes. She knew better than to argue with him.

"Alright but you get the next one." She said as she walked off towards the coffee shop.

She came back a couple of minutes later with two steaming cups of coffee in each hand and a pack of biscuits in her mouth. Smithy wound his window down and took his coffee from her. She then walked around to the passengers' side and got back into the car.

She passed the biscuits to Smithy. "You can't say I'm never nice to you."

As soon as she put her cup to her lips the radio crackled into action.

"Sierra Oscar to all units, white ford mondeo reported stolen this morning index, Whiskey, X-ray, 51, Charlie, Charlie, foxtrot, has been reported speeding down Talbott Street. Occupants of the car are suspects to a robbery. Can any unit show as dealing?"

"Talbott Street, that's just round the corner from here." Smithy said, flinging the contents of his cup out of the window and turning on the ignition

"Isn't it always the bloody way." Alex said, as she also tossed her coffee out of the window.

"Sierra Oscar from 21, show us dealing." Alex said into her radio.

Just as Smithy pulled the car from the curb and switched the lights and sirens on, a white car sped straight in front of them.

"There they are." He said, putting his foot down.

"Sierra Oscar from 21, in pursuit of vehicle now. Turning left onto Rowland way…" Alex continued to commentate into the radio.

After heading down many residential roads and back allies, they headed into what appeared to be an industrial estate.

"Where the hell are we now?" Smithy said feeling a little disorientated.

"We're in Abblegate industrial." Alex filled in.

The car in front showed no signs of slowing down; and there was plenty of machinery to avoid. Smithy was a good couple of yards behind the car when a lorry pulled out in front of them. Smithy swerved to avoid crashing into it. However, he started to skid and couldn't avoid the stationary van that was parked next to a lot of large, wooden crates. The passengers side of the car, clipped the van and then into the crates which fell onto the roof and bonnet of the area car. When they stopped, Smithy was fairly shaken. His door was badly buckled where some of the crates had dented it. He wasn't hurt badly apart from a pain in his wrist, but when he looked across at Alex she was unconscious.

"Oh no, Alex can you hear me?" He said as he reached over to check for a pulse.

She had taken the brunt of the accident and had a large cut to her head.

"Sierra Oscar from 54, ambulance required to the Abblegate industrial estate. We've been involved in an accident and Sergeant MacDonald has severe head injuries." He placed the radio on the dashboard in front of him.

_Come on Alex you can get through this, you have to. _He thought.

As he sat in the car he could hear the faint sound of sirens in the background.

"Come on Alex, that's the ambulance now." He took hold of her hand and was sure he felt her squeeze back.

The fire crew worked hard to cut away the crushed areas of the car. The car was clearly a right-off. Smithy was out and being attended to by the paramedics.

Smithy couldn't believe what had happened. He just watched as they released Alex from the car. Gina was standing next to her friend as they placed Alex onto a spinal board and wheeled her into the ambulance.

"What are the paramedics saying?" Smithy asked as Gina approached him.

"It's too early to tell at the moment but they don't think the extent of her injuries is too bad. I'm going to the hospital with her." Gina replied. She noticed the look of despair on Smithys' face. "You can't blame yourself Smithy, it was an accident." Gina placed a hand on his shoulders.

"They think I've fractured my wrist so I need to go to St Hughes to have it x-rayed anyway." Smithy explained.

"Right I'll see you there then." Gina said, managing to squeeze him a slight smile.

In the ambulance the paramedics worked on Alex, they were cleaning her wounds and bandaging them the best they could. As they did this, Alex began to stir.

Gina looked over and saw her friend looking panicked and confused.

"Hey Alex, its ok. You've been in an accident." Gina said as she reached over and held her friends hand.

"Gina? Where am I?" Alex asked groggily.

Gina looked at the paramedics who nodded at her and allowed her to move next to Alex properly.

"You've been involved in an accident." She repeated. "You're in the ambulance to St Hughes." She explained.

Alex winced in pain as she tried to move. They were getting closer to St Hughes when Alex lost consciousness again.

The ambulance pulled up outside the front of the hospital and the paramedics wheeled Alex into A&E, closely followed by Gina.

Smithy sat in a cubical as he waited for a nurse to come and set his wrist in plaster. He was so worried about Alex that he hadn't notice how much pain he was in. He had a strong, sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. How was he going to feel if she died? How was he going to explain it to her children if the worst happened? He couldn't think like that. Alex was strong and would pull through, wouldn't she?

At that moment Gina walked through the curtain to his cubical, pulling Smithy out of his thoughts.

"How is she? Have they said if she's going to pull through?" Smithys' mind was racing. He couldn't get her out of his head.

"She's lost quite a bit of blood but apart from a few cuts and bruises, she'll be fine." Gina said. She was trying to hide how upset and panicked she felt.

Smithy felt slightly better now, but suddenly he felt very drained, both physically and emotionally. At that moment the nurse who was going to put Smithys' cast on, came through.

"I'll head back down to see how Alex is doing." Gina said to Smithy.

As she walked down to where Alex was, Gina bumped into the doctor as he came out of Alexs' room.

"Sorry doctor, I was in a world of my own. How is she doing? Is she awake yet?" She asked, still feeling a little frantic.

"That's quite alright Inspector. Yes she is awake. She regained consciousness about five minutes ago. She's a little doped up at the minute on the pain killers put you can go in and see her if you like."

"Thank you doctor." Gina said as she entered the room.

Alex was attached to a drip and a couple of machines. Gina felt fairly shocked at how fragile Alex looked. She sat beside her in the chair next to the bed.

"Are you awake Alex?" Gina whispered, not wanting to wake her incase she was asleep again.

"No, I'm awake." Alex said. She sounded a lot healthier than she looked.

"Fine first day you've put in. It's barely twelve o'clock and you're already back in bed." Gina joked. Alex tried to laugh in response but only winced in pain.

"Ow, please don't make me laugh, it hurts too much." Alex said whilst clutching the pain in her side.

Suddenly something dawned on Alex that made her panic.

"I'm supposed to be picking Molly up from nursery by now." She said.

Gina looked at the heart monitor and saw it increase as Alex became distressed.

"Shhh. I've phoned Liz and told her what's happened and she is picking her up." Gina soothed and watched as Alex relaxed a bit more.

"They've said I should get out in a couple of days. They're keeping me in tonight incase of concussion. It's mainly just my broken leg and a bang to the head. I'm lucky really. How's Smithy?" She asked.

"He's ok, just a fractured wrist. He's more concerned about you." Gina explained.

"Gina, would you mind doing me a favour please?" Alex asked.

"Course, whatever I can do to help."

"Would you mind looking after the girls for me? You know I hate asking, but I'm obviously not going to be able to look after them, and I think they'll find it a lot more comforting if they stay with you."

Gina just smiled. She hated the fact that Alex always felt like she was dumping on her when she needed someone to baby-sit. Gina loved to do it. She had a really close relationship with the three girls. The eldest was Cara, then Molly and then baby Gina (named after their favourite Inspector.)

"You don't need to ask more than once. I love looking after them so I don't know why you hate asking."

Alex started looking very tired again. Gina thought it best to head off and look for Smithy.

"I'll come back later with the girls and see how you're doing, yeah?" Gina said as she kissed Alex goodbye.

"Yeah see you later Gina." Alex replied, barely awake.

Gina walked out of the room and went to find Smithy.


	3. Chapter 3

Smithy was discharged from the hospital within an hour. He was wanting to see Alex, but Gina had told him that she was resting; so he thought he'd go back later.

Gina was driving them back to the station now. Smithy was lost in his thoughts. He couldn't shift the pain and guilt from knowing that Alex was laid in hospital because of him.

Gina noticed that Smithy was very quiet on the drive back. There wasn't very much more that she could say to him.

"Alex is strong you know, she'll be fine." Gina tried to comfort him.

"What have the doctors said?" Smithy asked with concern.

"Well there doesn't seem to be any permanent damage done. She's got a broken leg and a few cuts and bruises, but she should be out in a couple of days. Course I wont let her back to work for at least two weeks, whether she likes it or not."

Ginas' last comment made Smithy smile. He knew Alex well enough to know that as soon as she got out of hospital, she would want to be back at work.

As Gina pulled the car into the car park, she saw the Superintendent standing outside. When Gina parked the car in the yard, John walked over to them.

"Inspector Gold, Sergeant Smith, as soon as you're ready I would like to see you both in my office. Sooner rather than later, if you please." With that he walked off back up the ramp.

"What do you think that's about?" Smithy asked, already knowing the answer to his question.

"Come on, we'd better head up otherwise he'll 'ave our guts for garters." Gina said as she gently pushed Smithy up the ramp.

She knew that he didn't want to go back to the station in case everyone blamed him for what happened. It had gone all round the station very quickly and everyone was concerned.

Gina arrived outside the Supers office and lightly knocked before entering. When they sat down the Superintendent began to explain why he had wanted to see them.

"Sergeant Smith, I want you to know that none of us blame you for what has happened to Alex. We understand that it was an accident. However, I have had the press onto me, wanting to know what happened. Their spin on it at the moment is dangerous driving on your part. Mia Perry handed this to me half an hour ago." John said as he handed Smithy a copy of the evening newspaper.

The title on the front page read, **"Dangerous Driving By Top Cop Causes Disaster On Industrial Estate."**

Smithy just looked on in horror. He couldn't believe what he was reading. They were making it sound like he had crashed the car deliberately.

"Sir, this isn't how it happened… that's not right…" Smithy babbled. He felt so helpless.

"It's ok Sergeant. I know that the accident was exactly that, an accident. But I do need to hear your version of events. So if you would please…" John encouraged Smithy to talk about what happened.

"We were parked on Waterbury way; it's just round the corner from Talbott Street, so when the call came through 'bout the stolen car we took it. I was just pulling out when we saw the car speeding off in front of us. We pursued him for a good 15, 20 minutes, down residential roads when we came out into the industrial estate. I didn't know where we were at first until Alex said that it was the Abblegate Industrial. There were a lot of stationary vehicles and machinery so I slowed down. The white car didn't. He was a good few yards in front of us when the lorry pulled out in front of me. I saw it but I couldn't stop in time; the car started to skid and Alexs' side hit one of the vans, the force then span me round into the crates. Alex was unconscious when I looked over. She had felt the full force of the accident, I was pretty lucky really." Smithy explained.

"Were there any witnesses to the accident?" Gina asked.

"I think there were a couple of people in one of the warehouses and a few were wandering around the yard. Honestly Sir, there was nothing I could do." Smithy felt like everyone was accusing him.

"I know that Sergeant Smith. I know you wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt anyone. I'll get onto the press office now and release my own statement. In the meantime I think you should go home and rest." John ordered.

"But Sir I want to stay here and …" Smithy started to say when he was cut off.

"I'm sorry Sergeant Smith but that's an order. I want you to go home, get some rest and come back in the morning."

"Yes Sir." Smithy replied.

Gina was going to drive Smithy home but he wanted to stop off at the hospital. He was on his way down to Alexs' private room now.

He looked through the window looking into her room before he went in. She was awake but still looked a bit dazed. He knocked on the door as he entered. He was carrying a large bouquet of flowers and a card from the relief. They'd had a whip round for her and everyone had chipped in. Alex looked really pleased to see him.

"Hey Smithy, how are you doing? I wasn't sure if you were still here or not." Alex didn't sound as groggy as she had done earlier, but she still sounded a little tired.

"No I got off lucky with a broken wrist and a couple of bruises. Everyone sends their best; they all chipped in for these." He said, showing her the large bouquet of flowers.

Alex smiled as much as she could manage. "Wow, didn't realize I was so popular." She said as she tried to sit up into a more comfortable position.

"Listen Alex… I'm so sorry…" Smithy started.

"Don't be. I'm fine, I lived to tell the tale, fight another day. Besides, you didn't do it deliberately, did ya?" Alex said smiling.

"Come sit down here." She said as she patted the side of the bed. "It gets very lonely in here, could do with the company for a bit if you want to stay?"

Smithy sat down next to Alex on the bed. At first he felt really uncomfortable, he still felt really guilty; however after he and Alex talked for a while they started laughing and joking as if nothing had happened.

"Tell you what; as soon as I get out of here I'll let you buy me a few pints. How does that sound?" Alex said.

"That's very generous of you." Smithy replied.

"Well I bought the coffee so it's only fair." They both looked at each other and laughed.

"So I take it that whoever we were pursuing got away then?" Alex asked. She could only switch off from being a copper for a short while.

"Yeah they did, unfortunately. Sam and Phil have taken the case on. Apparently it crosses with another case they're working on." Smithy looked a little disheartened again. Seeing this Alex changed the subject.

"So you never did tell me all the must know gossip at Sun Hill. You know, who is doing who, who is scrapping with each other, what is the deal with the new Superintendent etc." Alex lightened the mood a little again and Smithys' very recognizable mischievous grin reappeared.

"Well, Sam and Phil were together for a while, all of about five minutes when she called it off, but, there is a rumor that they're getting back together. Whether it's true or not…" Smithy explained as Alex listened intently. "Do you know 'bout Adam and Gina?"

"Yeah they got it together a couple of months back. Shame he's on the other side of the world mind you. Although he's coming back in a couple of weeks. Gina's really looking forward to that. So is there any one special in your life at the moment?" Alex asked and then remembered about Louise. "Sorry Smithy, I forgot 'bout… well, you know… guess it's my turn to look sheepish now." She smiled and tried to shrug off her embarrassment.

"Don't worry 'bout it. No there isn't anyone in my life right now. Can't believe that she's gone though." Smithy said.

"Yeah doesn't seem real when it happens, does it? It's like; you always assume that they're always going to be there and then they're not."

Smithy and Alex talked some more for a while. They discussed their experiences of loosing their partners, and how they have learned to cope with it. When Smithy looked at his watch it was after four.

"Heck, have you seen what time it is? I haven't had anything to eat since this morning. I'll come in and see you again tomorrow if you like?" Smithy said as he put on his jacket.

"Yeah I'd really like it if you would. And Smithy, don't dwell anymore on the accident, ok?" Alex looked at him.

"Absolutely Ma'am" Smithy replied and Alex mock glared at him.

Smithy bent down to kiss Alex on the cheek. In that couple of seconds, Smithy and Alex stared into each other eyes and suddenly both felt very flustered and uncomfortable. Smithy pulled away really quickly.

"I'll be off then." Smithy said as he rushed off out of the room.


	4. Chapter 4

A couple of days later Alex was out of hospital and back at Sun Hill. Gina wasn't happy that Alex had come back to work so soon, but Alex had promised to stay on light duties for a while.

She was still hobbling on crutches which made getting around quite amusing, but, some how she managed.

She was discussing the case of the stolen vehicle with Sam now.

"Well this is what we've got so far… Matt Bishop and Allan Gregson were seen committing armed robbery at Lassengers bookmakers at 9.00am on Tuesday morning. Their getaway car originally was being driven by some bloke we haven't been able to identify. Both the car and the getaway driver haven't been found, yet. We believe they switched cars because we know that the car they left in was a dark green BMW."

At that moment Phil came in. Sam and Phil had a bit of an awkward moment, which of course Alex noticed.

"We've spotted Bishop near Jamaica Docks. He didn't have the money with him though. He was with this guy…" Phil placed five photographs on the desk. "This guy here has been identified as…"

"Max Green." Alex finished for him.

"Yeah, how do you know that?" Phil asked.

"I have been after this guy for over six years, not to mention the fact that he is responsible for my husband Pauls' death." Alex explained.

"So, how is he connected to Pauls' death?" Sam enquired.

"We'd had a tip off about a theft from a jewelry store. Two guys named Christopher Reid and Samuel Davidson were the suspects for it. They were seen associating with Max a few weeks before hand; Apart from that there was nothing else that connected Green to any crime. Anyway, to cut a long story short, Paul realized that the robbery was just a decoy to cover up a drugs deal that was going down somewhere else. Paul and another officer from Barton Street went to cut Max Green off before he could leave the country with a load of drugs and money. Both officers were shot, Paul died as a result and his partner was paralyzed. You have no idea how much caching this guy means to me." A single tear ran down Alexs' cheek.

"I'm sorry Alex, I didn't realize…" Sam started to say.

"Please don't be sorry, I'm ok, honestly. I don't want people to feel sorry for me. I just need to get on with my life." Alex explained. She hated people being sympathetic. It made her feel weak, and showing signs of weakness gave others the upper hand.

"Alex, I think you're too close to this investigation. We'll keep you up to date with any developments, but…"

"But you're pulling me off because I could jeopardize the whole thing. I want to help; I want to help put the man who murdered my husband behind bars. Please, don't pull me off this. I promise I'll stay in the nic and I won't get in the way."

Sam could see how much this investigation meant to Alex. Sam softened and agreed.

"Ok, you can stay with the investigation. You can't investigate anything without my permission first. Is that clear?" Sam said.

"Absolutely Gov'. I know Max Green better than anyone so if there's anything you'd like to know…"

"We'll come and ask you. Actually, there's something you can do for me just now. I want you to get a list together of any known associates or suspected associates of Max Green. If you can find custody records, anything on crimint or even chris that could prove useful." Sam explained what it was that she was after.

Alex walked (Or rather, hopped) down to her office. She started looking through the filing cabinets, on the computer system. She was trying to use every piece of information she knew about Max Green.

After a couple of hours she finally hit a brick wall. There was only one other person who knew Max Green better than she did… She looked at the photo next to her desk. It was a picture of Paul, Alex, Cara and Molly. It was taken the previous summer when they went on holiday to France.

Alex was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed Smithy and Gina walk into the room. Gina noticed what Alex was looking at and recognized the look of sadness and despair. Gina looked at Smithy and he left the two women to it.

Gina walked round the desk and placed her hand on Alexs' shoulder. Alex looked up at Gina and tears started pouring down her face. Neither said a word for a couple of minutes; Gina just tried to comfort Alex.

Alex hadn't really grieved for her husband. Everything had happened to quickly that she had been too concerned for her children. Cara had stopped talking because of the shock; Molly didn't understand and just wanted to know where her Daddy was; and baby Gina was fighting for her life after being born prematurely. Alex had thrown herself into looking after her family, she didn't think about herself. Now things were hitting her all at once.

"Sorry Gina. I was just thinking…" Alex tried to explain through her sobs.

"It's ok darling. I understand that it's hard. Are you sure you haven't come back to work too soon?" Gina said as she comforted her friend.

"No I'm fine, honest. I had to come back to work sooner or later. I have to learn to move on with my life. Staying at home or falling into a heap isn't going to bring him back, is it? I've spent the last couple of months talking to Cara, trying to encourage her to talk. She was so traumatized that she wouldn't talk to anyone. I would be such a hypocrite if I took more time off because I can't learn to cope."

Alex felt so angry with herself. She hated feeling like this. She felt so helpless yet she was too stubborn to admit that she needed help.

"Well you know where I am if you ever need someone to talk to. You've got a lot of friends here who just want to help. Do you fancy coming for refs? I'll even buy, so you'd better come make the most of it." Gina said.

Alex smiled. Gina could always make Alex feel better, no matter what was going on. Gina had supported Alex through thick and thin for almost fourteen years. Whenever Alex needed advice, a shoulder or even someone to rant at, Gina was always there.

Alex and Gina walked off to the canteen and were joined by Smithy. Alex was starting to feel a bit happier. The three officers sat and talked. Alex was really enjoying herself. She liked being at Sun Hill and realized she had made the best decision to transfer.

"We're going to head for the pub later, do you fancy coming Alex?" Smithy asked.

"Of course, that would be great. Who's coming?" Alex said as she tucked in to her sandwich.

"Sam, Phil, Kezia, most of uniform and I'm pretty sure that Gina will join us. Won't you?" Smithy looked at Gina. It was more of a statement than a question.

"Now that is a silly question. As soon as the word pub is mentioned you should know I'll be there." Gina said smiling.

The three officers laughed. Alex enjoyed spending time with her colleagues. She had often joined them at the Seven Bells for a couple of pints after work; a pint and a game of pool.

"Who do think will challenge me to a game tonight? So far I don't think there is a single person who has been able to win against me yet." Alex looked at Smithy. He could never resist a good challenge.

"Right, I'll give you a game. Fifty quid says I win." Smithy said.

"Alright, you're on." Alex replied.

Gina watched the two officers. It was nice for her to see Alex enjoying herself; especially after what had happened in the office.

"Well we had better get back to work, hadn't we?" Gina said as she got up from her seat.

"Yeah, suppose we had better." Alex said as she also moved out of her seat. "Guess we'll see you later then Smithy." Alex said as she gave him a little cheeky wink.


	5. Chapter 5

The relief made their way to the pub after their shift finished. Alex was heading down with Gina and Smithy. Her sister Liz was joining them after having a tough day in court.

"Well Lizzie you were the one who chose to be a CPS Lawyer. Although, at least you work for the prosecution and not the defence; I really would dis-own you then." Alex laughed. She loved her younger sister and loved winding her up even more.

When they walked in, everyone was already sat around a couple of the tables.

"I'll get the first round in. What's everyone having?" Smithy asked the three women.

"I'll have a gin and tonic please." Gina said first.

"Mines a pint. Thank you Smithy." Alex ordered.

Liz smiled at her older sister. Alex enjoyed being one of the "Lads". It didn't matter how hard he tried, Smithy couldn't out drink Alex. Every time he tried, Alex managed to match him drink for drink.

"I'll just have an orange juice please." Liz asked.

"Wimp. Are you not having something a little stronger?" Alex mocked.

"No, I'm not. For the simple reason, that I am not an alcoholic; unlike some people." Liz retaliated.

"I don't know what you're talking 'bout." Alex replied. Both sisters burst out laughing and Gina just rolled her eyes.

After an hour of drinking and banter, Alex challenged Smithy to that game of pool he had promised.

"Come on then. Your unbroken record is about to be broken." Smithy said as he got up out of his seat.

Everyone walked over to the pool table to watch them play. Smithy set the balls on the table and lined up the white ball. He stepped aside to let Alex in.

"Go on, ladies first." He said.

Alex took her first shot. She potted two balls at first; then a third and then a fourth. Smithy looked on in horror as she potted one more each time. Finally she missed a shot, not before almost clearing the table single handedly. Alex gave Smithy a cocky look.

"Go on then Sergeant Smith, your turn." Alex said.

"You just got lucky that's all. Now you're about to see some real skill." Smithy replied as he took his first shot.

"You know you two are worse than a couple of kids." Gina said.

Smithy didn't do too badly. He had managed to pot a few balls before he missed. He was fairly impressed with himself.

Alex then took her next few shots and potted her remaining balls. She looked at Smithy with a smirk and held out her hand.

"Come on then, Fifty pounds I think it was." Alex said mischievously.

Everyone looked on with a smirk as Smithy reached out his wallet and handed Alex fifty pounds.

After the relief went back to their seats or sat around the bar, Smithy walked up to Alex. He was very impressed at how well she could play pool.

"How come you learned to play like that?" He asked as he helped her tidy away the pool table.

"My big brother Jamie taught me, Liz and Cameron how to play before he died. We used to have a pool table in the garage at home so we used to spend hours playing. He was generally good at everything he touched." Alex explained.

"Sorry Alex, I didn't realize you had an older brother. What happened to him? That is, if you don't mind me asking." Smithy asked.

"No I don't mind at all. We were on holiday when it happened; we used to own a little cottage somewhere in Scotland. There was a river about half a mile away from the house so we used to go swimming there nearly everyday in the summer. This particular day the four of us went down to river as usual. It was a really hot summer that year so the water was lovely. We'd been down for a couple of hours when it happened. Jamie swam out to this little island that sat in the middle of the river. We'd been racing to it all morning and I had left my sandals on the bank, so Jamie offered to get them. We were all really good swimmers but we hadn't realized that there was an under current. Jamie started to get into difficulty and wasn't strong enough to swim against the current. He went under and I tried to swim after him, but… he was gone. My mother has never been able to cope well with his death. I think it would have been better if we had found his body, but divers searched for hours without any success." Alex explained.

"Were the four of you quite close then?" Smithy asked.

"Yes we were. There isn't much of an age gap between us so we all went through the same stages at about the same time. There was only one year and six days between Jamie and myself; then there's fourteen months between myself and Liz; and then two years and three months between Cameron and me. That means there is about fifteen months between him and Liz." Alex smirked at the look on Smithy's face when she finished explaining.

"Blimey, your parents didn't waste much time, did they?" Smithy stated.

Alex just laughed and they went to rejoin the rest of the group.

It was Alexs' turn to buy the next round so she walked up to the bar. While she was waiting to be served she noticed Sam sitting nearby. Sam looked to be in a world of her own; Then Alex noticed Phil standing next to the bar, he was flirting with some young blonde. Alex walked up to Sam and sat beside her.

"You alright Sam?" Alex asked.

"Yes I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" Sam said a little flustered. She hadn't realized that she had been staring at Phil.

Alex raised one eyebrow at her and then looked across at Phil. Sam realized that she had been caught out.

"Feeling a little jealous are we?" Alex asked.

"No of course not. I was the one who ended it with him, so he is more than within his rights to want to see someone else." Sam said.

"Tell me to mind my own business if you want Sam, but why did you end things with him?" Alex asked. Sam knew that Alex wasn't trying to pry so she opened up to the younger woman.

"It would have never worked between us. What Phil and I have is special, we're a really good team and I didn't want to spoil that." Sam explained as quietly as she could.

"Something I realized quite recently is that life is too short and that we only get one shot at life. Paul and I would have only been married for five years this year, yet we were together for ten. He had asked me to marry him quite early on in our relationship but I turned him down. I said no because I was scared. Paul isn't Cara's biological Dad. I had been married for a couple of years before I met Paul. My first marriage was breaking up, probably because we got married too young, but I felt like David was the love of my life. I was devastated when I found out David had been having an affair. I was scared to take a chance with Paul but I agreed to go out for a couple of drinks with him. He was really good with Cara; she was only a baby at the time. After a few months he asked me to marry him, and I turned him down because I was worried that marriage would ruin our relationship. He didn't ask me again until four or five years later. I can't help think that I should have said yes to him the first time. I wasted about five years because I was too scared to take a chance and now he's dead. Like I said Sam, life is too short to waste. If you love him, take the risk and give it a chance. If I could have my time with Paul again I would do everything differently." Alex explained. She then left Sam on her own.

Sam thought about it for a while and then walked over to where Phil was. She grabbed his arm and asked him to come outside.

"Phil… I… I love you. I wish I hadn't ended it with you. I've regretted it ever since I did it but I was scared. I've been hurt so many times; I can't be hurt again." Sam explained.

Phil didn't say anything. He just lifted Sams' chin so that she was looking at him, and then he kissed her.

Back in the pub the rest of the relief were in very good spirits. They were all having fun discussing their first arrests. They all enjoyed sharing their stories.

Finally as the night out came to an end, the officers left one by one. Alex, Liz and Gina agreed to share a cab home. Smithy lived in the opposite direction so he got another cab home.

He said goodbye to the three women and again he and Alex had a very awkward moment. Alex couldn't understand why they kept having these moments. Smithy was going kiss Alex but then thought better of it.

"Erm… I'll see you tomorrow I guess." Alex said as she quickly turned and got into the taxi.

Gina noticed the tension between the two friends. She gave Alex a look as she got into the car.

"Don't say a word…" Alex said as she glared at Gina.

Gina smirked, "I wasn't going to say a thing."


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning Alex sat in the Sergeants office, working hard on gathering evidence against Max Green. She hadn't seen Smithy yet. It didn't matter how hard she tried to concentrate on Max Green, she couldn't get her mind off Smithy. Why was she feeling like this?

At that moment Gina walked into the room. Alex busied herself and pretended she hadn't seen her.

"Good morning. How are we today?" Gina asked.

Alex knew that Gina had seen the way she had been with Smithy last night.

"Come on; say it because I know you're dying to." Alex said as she sat back in the seat.

"Say what? I haven't a clue as to what you're talking about." Gina said innocently.

"Well if it helps I haven't got a clue either." Alex said feeling frustrated.

Gina saw that her friend needed advice so she sat on the desk next to her and asked her what was wrong.

Alex thought for a moment. She didn't really know what was wrong.

"I… I think I may be getting feelings for Smithy. I don't really know what to do. It's only a few months since Paul died, and Smithy only lost Louise at the start of the year. Yet we both keep having these moments where we both feel really uncomfortable with each other." Alex sighed.

"Well, have you tried speaking to him?" Gina asked.

"No I haven't, nor do I intend to. What if it's just me? I really don't want to make a pratt of myself. Smithy and I are really close friends. We've been through so much together as well as separately; I've got three girls to think about and I don't know if he feels the same. What do I do?" Alex asked. She really relied on Gina.

"Talk to him. I don't know if you've noticed, but he's avoiding you as well. How do you know how he feels until you ask him?" Gina said.

"Do you know something Gina? I hate it when you're right." Alex smiled.

Gina just smiled and gave a slight shrug of her shoulder.

"Anyway, how are you getting on with Max Green?" Gina asked. Her tone changed slightly. She now sounded a little more official.

"Well, we know Max Green is supposed to have had a shipment of drugs brought into the country. I think the money from the bookies was just a bit extra on the side, as well as a decoy operation. That seems to be his usual MO. Yesterday Sam and Phil made quite a break through, so I just need to speak to them. Neither are in yet, apparently." Alex looked at Gina and smirked.

"Right well I'll leave you to it. Keep me up to speed with what happens. And I don't necessarily mean the case." Gina said.

"I know what you meant. Anyway, are you going to sign my cast? Everyone else has." Alex asked as she handed Gina a marker pen.

Gina looked down at the cast on Alexs' leg. There were a lot of messages from various members of staff, friends and family. Gina wrote her message whilst reading some of the others.

"Has Smithy not written one?" Gina said raising an eyebrow.

Alex just glared at her and Gina smiled. They both left the office and Alex headed for CID to speak to Sam and Phil.

Alex finally caught up with Sam in her office. Neil was out so Sam was alone doing some paperwork. Alex knocked on the door and Sam looked up.

"Hi Sam. How are you this morning?" Alex asked.

"Morning Alex. I'm great thank you. How are you?" Sam replied. She was in a really good mood.

"I'm very well thank you. You took my advice then?" Alex asked.

"Yes I did. Please don't say anything to anyone else. Phil and I have talked and we've agreed to keep it quiet, for now. So, how are we getting on with the Max Green case?" Sam asked.

"Well, Phil found some evidence that suggests that the robbery from the bookies was a decoy for a delivery of drugs. It's also a possibility that the money was used to pay off some of his debts to his drugs supplier. I don't know who his supplier is, but I do know he's from Spain. He's been his supplier for about three years. He gets a supply of drugs regularly but never to the same place. However, there is CCTV footage of Green with this supplier. I think it is footage of him setting up another drugs deal; all we have to do is get a lip reader in and let them tell us what they say." Alex explained.

"That's great Alex. Can you arrange that? Also I would prefer it if we knew who this other man is. If you could find out, it would be very helpful."

"Right Gov' I'll get onto it right away." Alex said as she left the room.

Alex walked down to the office. Smithy was sat at his desk working hard on his computer. Alex walked over to her desk opposite his. For a couple of seconds Alex just looked at him. When he looked up she quickly looked away, pretending to look for something. Suddenly, she realized that the file on Max Green that had been sitting on her desk was gone.

"Smithy, have you seen the file that was on my desk?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, I put it into the filing cabinet." Smithy said.

Alex walked over to the cabinet and started to look for the file. She started to panic a little when she couldn't find it.

"Smithy, are you sure it's in here? I can't find it." Alex said as she fumbled in the cabinet.

Smithy got up out of his seat and walked over to where Alex was stood. He stood behind her and reached into the cabinet in front. After a couple of seconds he pulled out the file and handed it to Alex. She turned round to face him. He had each arm at the side of Alex, and was leant against the cabinet.

"I'm not going to let you go until you say thank you and admit that you need my help." Smithy joked.

Alex glared at him. They looked each other in the eye and the atmosphere between them changed. Smithy leant forward and kissed Alex. She let him kiss her until she realized what she was doing.

"I really don't think that is a good idea, do you? I need to get this file to CID. If you will excuse me." She said as she pushed past him and headed out of the office.

Outside the office Alex leant against the wall and closed her eyes.

_I can't believe I just did that. You stupid, stupid idiot._ She thought. She sighed and walked up to CID with the file.

Smithy sat back down in his seat. He couldn't believe that he had just kissed Alex. He knew things had been a little awkward between them. He didn't know why he did it; he didn't have any reasoning for it. He couldn't help feel that no matter what happened now, his friendship with Alex wouldn't be the same.


	7. Chapter 7

Smithy walked into the canteen; it was time for refs. He was hoping he would see Alex. He looked around but there was no sign of her. He sighed and walked up to the counter.

"Hello Helen. Can I get a cup of tea and a sausage roll please?" Smithy asked.

"Are you alright today Smithy? Only you look like you've got a lot on your mind." Helen asked.

Helen was really nice. She was quite a tall woman in her late fifties with short, graying hair. She made it her job to mother every officer in the station; making sure they got a proper meal. She was always there for anyone who needed a chat or some motherly advice.

"I'm alright thank you Helen. I've just got a bit to think about today, but it's nothing that I can't cope with." Smithy smiled as he took his tea and snack to a table.

Smithy sat and thought about Alex and what had happened in the office. He really liked Alex. She was a really close friend and he thought a lot of her. Why had he kissed her? He had always considered her his closest friend and thought of her more as a sister. That was before; so what had changed now? Smithy thought for a minute. He realized that before, Alex had been married to Paul, now he was dead. Was that what was different?

At that moment Smithy looked up to see Alex walk into the canteen. She also saw him and walked straight back out again. Smithy got up quickly and chased after her as she walked out of the door. When Smithy got to the entrance to the canteen he was stopped by Reg.

"Oh Sarge…" Reg started to say, only to be cut off.

"Not now Reg, catch me later…" Smithy said as he tried to push past him.

"But Sarge, there's a Mrs Baxter in the front office for you. She says she wants to see you urgently." Reg finished.

Smithy sighed as he watched Alex disappear around the corner. Clearly, he wasn't going to get a chance to speak to her any time soon.

"Thanks Reg, I'll go and see her now." Smithy said as he made his way into the front office.

He was going to talk to Alex as soon as he could; tell her what he was thinking; tell her… well he wasn't sure what he was going to tell her, he just knew that it had to be said.

Alex walked round the corner away from Smithy. She couldn't face him just yet. What must he think of her? Alex really liked Smithy a lot and had a very close friendship with him. She wasn't sure if she wanted to take the risk of having a relationship with him, what if it ruined that friendship?

_You are such a hypocrite Alex MacDonald. You told Sam last night to take a risk because life was too short. Now you're in the same position as she was and doing nothing about it._ Alex thought bitterly to herself.

Alex had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed Phil standing in front of her.

"Easy, don't want to crease the suit. Cost me an absolute fortune." Phil said as he straightened himself up.

"Don't know why, you could have got a nicer one from Marks and Spencer's a hell of a lot cheaper." Alex mocked.

Phil just glared at her as he straightened his collar.

"Well, since I've got you here; the interpreter arrived about half an hour ago. She's in there now." Phil said pointing at a room behind Alex.

"Right, shall we go in and see what she has to say then." Alex said quickly. She wanted to do anything that took her mind off Smithy.

The interpreter looked at the footage a few times and wrote down everything that the men were saying. It was exactly as Alex had suspected. They were arranging another drugs deal. This time it was a lot larger than Max Green normally received. The delivery was due in two days time.

"Well if this is as big as they are making out then it's probably going to be very high profile. Alex have you had any luck in finding out who the other guy is?" Sam asked.

"Yes, his name is Marcus Black. He is wanted in this country for a number of offences and outstanding warrants. He moved out to Spain about four years ago and has been there ever since." Alex explained.

"Do we know how many people are going to be involved in this deal?" Phil asked.

"No, but like Sam said, it'll be very high profile. Both Max Green and Marcus Black have very high profile and well known associates. In fact they're often just pawns in someone else's little game." Alex informed the rest of her colleagues.

She had been after Max Green long enough to know his every move. Unfortunately he also knew Alex well enough to know her every move too.

"Right, I want to set up a sting operation. Phil if you can get hold of the National Crime Squad and inform them of what's going on; Alex, we'll probably need SO19 and SO16 so if you could organize that…"

"Gov' I don't think we should do our usual sting procedure. Max Green knows me and our methods all too well, so he knows exactly what we will do."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Sam Asked.

"What if we let the deal go ahead? No cars, no surveillance. Green will be expecting us to be there at the drop off sight. I say we pick them up somewhere else. If we lure them into a false sense of security first, then they'll drop their guard." Alex suggested.

"That sounds too risky Alex. Suppose you're wrong and they don't suspect anything; how do we know that they wont change their plans slightly, and then we end up losing them and thousands of pounds worth of drugs?" Sam said.

"I can see your point, but they'll have armed thugs placed all over so that we can't get anywhere near. You can't always see where they are either, otherwise that defeats the point. They would expect us to have a covert surveillance operation and place their guys in the appropriate places. Our best bet is to study the area where the drop is to be made. If we make sure we have every eventuality covered then we should get a result. These guys are really dangerous and shouldn't be taken lightly." Alex explained.

Sam thought this information over for a minute or two. She trusted Alex and her judgment, but she felt concerned that she was too close to the case.

"Alright Alex, we'll go with your suggestion. I want us to be fully protected throughout this operation, so I would rather go in heavy handed than under handed, right? If you uncover anything that you think is useful, no matter how big or small, let me know. Alex, I want you to come up to my office with me and study the area map. Phil if you could inform all of the appropriate departments." Sam said, giving her orders to everyone and watching them move into action.

Alex sat in Sams' office looking at the map. She was picking off possible escape routes for the cars to go down. They had agreed on a mile radius around the drop off site. It was close enough to keep an eye out for them but not too close that they would feel suspicious.

"Right, so the delivery is to be made to Jamaica Docks. He has had one or two drops at this location before; due to the large scale of this deal he'll be wanting somewhere familiar. Now, there are high building blocks here, here and here." Alex said as she pointed at the map. "I think he'll place some of his guys here because he would have an advantage over us. He will also have some guys placed on the ground. Now if we place a van here and here…" Alex said, pointing at two roads that lead to the back of a warehouse. "Then they can see the shipment coming in, but, anyone placed on the roofs won't see them. Then we could place an area car here, so that they can drive after anyone who tries to escape; at least there they will also be able to help us if we need back up. They would be on the main road so they're closest either way."

"Well Alex you have certainly done your homework on this. How many of uniform will be available?" Sam asked.

"As many as we need. We will need to make sure everyone is well informed. The deal is due to go down at 3.00pm but I say we should be prepared a good couple of hours before hand. Max Green has been known to get jumpy and change times etc. I'll be back here of course directing you up and down any possible escape routes."

"Right Alex, if you get together as many officers as you can from uniform and meet me in the briefing room in about 20 minutes. If you could find Smithy and bring him up to speed." Sam asked. Then she noticed the look on Alexs' face.

"Smithy…" Alex started to say.

"Is that a problem?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"No, that's not a problem at all." Alex said moving towards the door.

Walking towards their office, Alex felt very nervous and uncomfortable. She hadn't seen Smithy since they had kissed.

She walked into the office but he wasn't there. She was just about to turn round when Smithy walked in behind her. For a couple of seconds they just looked at each other. The atmosphere was very awkward between them. Finally Alex decided to speak.

"The DI wants you in the briefing room as soon as possible." She turned to head out of the door when she felt a hand grab her wrist.

Smithy closed the door to the office and made Alex look straight at him.

"I'm really sorry for earlier. I shouldn't have done what I did, and I'm sorry if I've upset you or offended you. I don't want our friendship to be effected because I was very stupid." Smithy explained.

"You haven't upset or offended me. I haven't been myself lately, and I think we need to talk about it. I'm going to be very honest with you now. I have developed feelings for you; very strong feelings. When we kissed earlier, I wanted it to happen…" Alex started to explain.

"I feel the same about you. To be honest, I always have. At first I thought nothing would ever happen between us because you were with Paul, so I settled for your friendship. If you say that you don't want us to go any further than friends, then we won't…" Smithy explained.

"How do you feel about the fact that I have three children?" Alex asked.

"I really love your girls. I think they're really good kids." Smithy said.

"Yeah but you have to realize that they will always come first in my life. If anything was to happen between me and you, they would always come first. It wouldn't just be us in the relationship." Alex explained.

"Is that what you want with me, a relationship?" Smithy asked.

"Yeah, I think I would. Is that what you want?" Alex asked suddenly feeling very nervous.

Smithy didn't say anything. He looked at Alex and leaned forward to kiss her. This time Alex didn't pull away. They embraced and lost themselves for a couple of minutes. Finally Smithy pulled away and placed his forehead against Alexs'.

"I can't make any promises Smithy…" Alex whispered to him.

"I know. We'll take things steady and see how it goes." Smithy said as he kissed Alex again.

Alex pulled away this time and smiled.

"Oi, you'd better stop that before someone sees. I don't do public displays of affection thank you. Anyway, we'd better go do what we're paid for." Alex said as she walked towards the door. Smithy smiled and followed her up to CID.


	8. Chapter 8

"Right everyone; this is the case that we have been working on." Sam stood in front of her officers and explained the case to them.

She explained who was going to go where, placing Smithy and Phil together at one of the rear entrances near the docks.

"Smithy will you be ok to take an active part in the raid?" Sam asked, referring to his wrist.

"Yeah I should be fine Gov'. The cast has been taken off so it's just in a bandage now. It was only a mild fracture." Smithy explained.

SO19 would be placed at every entrance and partnered with all the officers involved.

"Sergeant MacDonald will be back here guiding us along any possible escape routes that we haven't covered. Now Max Green and his associates are very dangerous, so keep your wits about you at all times. I want to see you all down in the yard in about half an hour." Sam said as everyone walked out of the briefing room.

Alex pulled Sam back for a private word.

"Just make sure that you get him please. I don't really care about anyone else, just get Max Green." Alex pleaded.

Sam could see how much getting a result meant to Alex.

"We'll do our best Alex." Sam said as she squeezed Alex a smile.

Down in the yard the officers waited in the vans, cars and mini bus that would be taking them round to the drop off site. Alex was sat in CID with Gina and Jack. In front of them were various maps and other information on the warehouses, docks, and the surrounding area.

Alex paced round the room with the radio in her hand. She was absolutely terrified. Memories of what had happened to Paul came flooding back. They thought that they had planned that raid properly, but Max Green still managed to pull the wool over their eyes.

Gina watched Alex as she paced the floor. She felt really worried about her. Alex had a tendency to keep everything bottled up and not say what was on her mind; even though it was pretty obvious in this case.

"Alex will you sit down, you're making me nervous. Come take the weight off that leg. You know you're not meant to be walking without your crutches." Gina said, trying not to make it sound like a lecture.

Alex looked at Gina, she was about to argue back but thought better of it. Instead she rolled her eyes, sighed and sat down. As she did so, she suddenly felt very tired. The stress of the situation was really getting to her. Mixed with overwhelming anxiety, was the even more over whelming sense of anger.

Gina took hold of Alexs' hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Normally Alex would have pulled away, but because of her close relationship with Gina, she appreciated the support. Alex wasn't the kind of person who believed in showing emotion in public.

"I know that this is difficult, especially since you aren't actively involved in the raid. We will get a result, and hopefully you will see the justice you're looking for." Gina tried to comfort her.

"I know, I know. It's just… it doesn't matter anymore, getting a result I mean. Paul's gone and there's nothing that's going to change that. So I'm going to move on with my life, and hopefully Smithy will help me do that." Alex looked at Gina and smiled.

"Ah, so you spoke to him then." Gina replied.

"You could say that. What do you think Cara will say though?" Alex looked worried.

Before Gina could answer Sams voice came over the radio.

"All units from DI Nixon. Suspect Max Green has just pulled up in a black Astra. Units stand by and go on my signal."

The Superintendent walked into the briefing room and joined the three officers. They sat for a couple of minutes and listened to the running commentary from Sam. Alex sat and traced the map with her fingers as she listened. As far as she could see they had covered every base.

"DI Nixon from 54. A large dark blue van is heading towards the docks. Index number, whisky, uniform, 23, Oscar, Romeo, tango." Smithy said into his radio.

"Ok Smithy, he has just come into our view." Sam replied as she looked through her binoculars.

Alex sat and listened intently. She only wished she was there and could see what was happening for herself.

"Ok Max has just got out of the car. He's now approaching Marcus Black with a large brown leather bag. Marcus has two of his thugs beside him. Can anybody see where that blue van went to? Only it's not Blacks vehicle." Sam asked looking puzzled.

Stuart picked up his radio and replied. "Yeah it's parked round the side of the warehouse. We can just about make it out and no-more. We can't see Black from here Gov', or the deal. Can't we just go a bit closer?" Stuart asked.

"No Stuart. Stay where you are until I say otherwise, we don't want to spook them." Sam ordered. She knew how big headed Stuart could get, especially if he thought he could get a result first.

"Great. There's hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of drugs being delivered and none of us can see; all because we're taking the advice of some young Sergeant who thinks she knows best. How do any of us know when the deal has happened or if it's gone wrong…?" Stuart continued to complain to Tony. They had been paired together at the back of a warehouse that was just off the main road.

"Oi, don't judge Alex because you think you're right and she's not. She has worked very hard to catch this guy and even lost her husband because of him. She is a very good officer, one of the best that I know and I trust her judgment." Tony reprimanded him.

Sam could just make out Max and Marcus. Neither looked very happy with the other. Max threw the bag down at Marcus' feet and tried to walk away. Suddenly three or four vans came speeding down from no where. One went straight past Smithy and Phils' car.

"DI Nixon from 54 it looks like we've got quite a problem. A green van has just gone past us at speed and headed towards the docks…"

"Yeah, same here only it's a red one that's gone down." Stuart commented into his radio.

Alex grabbed her radio. "DI Nixon from 56. Send the armed response units in first and be on the look out for guys on the roof tops." Alex reminded them all about what she had told them.

The raid so far was going a little pair shaped. Sam had to think quickly on her feet. She then looked up to see ten guys get out of each van that had just driven down. They were carrying weapons, baseball bats, pipes and a couple had guns. Marcus Black looked as shocked at this as Sam and the other officers did.

"All units go, go, go." Sam shouted into the radio.

As the air filled with sirens, gun fire could be heard from the roof tops. Marcus Blacks thugs picked off the guys who had just jumped out of the vans. One shot hit Max green in the arm. As SO19 jumped into action, most of the gang tried to make a run for it, only to be cornered by more SO19 officers as well as those from Sun Hill.

The officers started cuffing as many guys as they could. Smithy and Phil went to the top of one building in search of the roof top shooters. They were guided by SO19 officers. As they got to the top they saw two guys trying to make a run for it.

"Stop armed police, put down your…" But before the armed officer could finish his warning one of the thugs aimed his gun at them.

He aimed at Smithy and managed to shoot him in the arm. SO19 then aimed their guns at him and shot him dead. His accomplice dived down a flight of stairs and out of sight.

Phil ran towards the stairs where the guy had disappeared but he was long gone. He ran back to where Smithy was lying on the ground. His arm was covered in blood.

"Are you alright?" Phil asked out of breath.

"Yeah I'm fine, but I don't think they like my arm very much." Smithy said as he pointed at the bandage already on his arm from the accident.

Phil laughed and pulled the radio from his pocket. "Sierra Oscar from DS Hunter, ambulance required to Jamaica docks, Sergeant Smith has a gun shot wound to his arm."

On hearing this both Alex and Gina looked worried. Alex felt a sense of déjà vu. This is exactly what happened the day Paul died. Without saying a word both women grabbed their coats and headed down to the car. Alex went as fast as she could on her crutches. The faster she hopped the more her leg hurt. Right now though she didn't care; she just wanted to get to Smithy and make sure he was ok.

Back at the drop off site, or rather what was left of the drop off site, Sam and Phil looked round at the horror they were presented with. So far they had counted six dead and four injured. Stuart approached Sam.

"Any signs of the drugs or money Stuart?" Sam asked.

"I don't think there ever were any drugs Sam. The money's long gone, along with Marcus Black and Max Green. I think Green was set up." Stuart explained.

"How the hell did they get past us?" Sam sighed in frustration. "Do we know where Green or Black headed?"

"No we don't. A couple of units have headed out to look but so far nothing. At the moment we're looking at two options, either Max Green escaped in the commotion or…"

"Or Marcus Black has him." Sam finished. "Thanks Stuart. Keep me up to date." She said as she sent Stuart back to work.

When Stuart left, Phil placed his hand on Sams shoulder. He looked at her and then round about him to see if anyone was looking. He was about to kiss her when she pulled away.

"Have you not heard that there's a time and a place for everything DS Hunter? And this is neither." Sam reprimanded. She then also looked around and softened her tone.

"I was really scared when I heard those shots being fired. I thought I might have lost you." Sam said.

"Don't be daft; it'll take more than that to get rid of me." Phil replied.

In the hospital Alex approached the cubicle where Smithy was having his wound attended to. As she pulled the curtain back, Smithy looked up. He had his shirt off and the nurse was just finishing cleaning the blood from his arm.

At first they just looked at each other and then Alex smiled and quietly laughed. She sat down on the bed beside him. She looked at his arm and felt a surge of guilt.

"Are you ok Smithy?" She asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. I've had worse done to me." He replied and then winced in pain.

"We're a right pair, aren't we? It's not been one of our best weeks." Alex said.

"I don't know; Apart from the fact that I've been shot and in a car accident this week, I've got the best looking girl in Sun Hill nic as my girlfriend." Smithy said as he wriggled his eyebrow.

Alex smiled. "Oh is that right?" She replied.

"Yeah it is; and I would like to know if the best looking girl in the station would like to come out to dinner tonight?" He asked.

"Well we'll see what the doctor says. If you're aloud to, then she says yes."

The nurse just smiled at the conversation between them. They were interrupted when Gina came over to them.

"Can't take you pair anywhere can I?" She said as she placed her stuff on a chair.

She looked at his arm and shook her head. "I hope that isn't as bad as it looks." She said looking worried.

"No it's just a scratch." He said trying to look brave but then winced again as the nurse bandaged the wound.

Alex smiled. "Wimp, are you a man or a mouse?"

Smithy looked and thought for a minute. "A mouse. See I need a good woman behind me."

Alex mock scowled. "Depends on what you mean by that." She smiled when she saw the look of horror on his face.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that… I meant… never mind." Smithy said, digging a hole for himself.

Gina tried to stifle a laugh and Alex gave him a cheeky smile. Gina knew that Alex and Smithys' relationship would prove interesting. Each was just as bad as the other.

Smithys' injury was only superficial so he was aloud home after his wound was dealt with. On their way down to the car Alex was starting to struggle a bit. The pain in her leg was getting to her now. She hadn't noticed it so much before. Smithy helped the best he could.

"Maybe you two should consider going home. I'll contact you if there are any developments, but until then Alex you should get some rest." Gina added when she saw Alexs' look of protest.

"Fine Gina you win, this time. I'm too tired to argue." She replied as she got into the car.

They went back to Alexs' house for a while. Smithy was enjoying playing with Molly and Cara. They were playing snap. Alex went upstairs to get the baby. She walked quietly back down and stood in the doorway. She smiled as the three argued about who was cheating. Molly and Cara had known Smithy since they were born, so to them he was just a big play mate.

"Oi Smithy, if my girls say you're cheating then you are." Alex said.

Smithy held his hands up in defeat. Suddenly he felt his stomach grumble.

"I'm hungry. Who fancies a chippie?" He said.

"That would be very nice." Alex replied.

Smithy headed off in the car to get their tea. Whilst he was gone Alex took the opportunity to tell Cara about her relationship with Smithy. She took it a lot better than Alex had imagined.

"I don't expect you to be on your own forever mum. Anyway, I like Smithy. He's really good fun." Cara said.

"You know, for a thirteen year old you're very grown up. Your aunt and I couldn't get used to the idea of your Grandma being with someone else after your Granddad died. We're fine about it now but we weren't keen on it at the time." Alex explained.

"How long is it since Granddad died?" Cara asked.

"About five years now. Still can't believe he's gone. Your Granddad and I didn't always get on but I still miss him."

At that moment Gina walked in through the back door. Cara went over to her and gave her a big hug.

"Hey Gina. Is that you finished for the night?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, I thought that was one shift that would never end. Just thought I'd come round and see how you are doing." Gina said as she eased herself into a chair.

"Yeah good thanks. Smithy has just gone out to get us a chippie. You gonna stay for something to eat?" Alex asked.

"Why not. I haven't got much in my cupboards anyway." Gina replied as she helped Alex clear the table.

And almost as if on queue Smithy walked through the door with a large bag of food.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning Phil sat in CID talking to Sam about some CCTV footage he had found the night before. The footage showed Marcus Black pulling Max Green into a red car. Black had a gun pointing at Greens' head. What ever it was that Max Green had done, it clearly had upset Black a lot.

"We then loose them as the car disappears down a back alley. We can only get a partial index, Whiskey, Tango, 99… It doesn't give us much to go on but it's a start." Phil explained.

"That's great Phil. You're right though, it doesn't give us much to go on. Clearly Max is in real danger so we need to get to him quickly. If you could find Alex and get her to go through the rest of the CCTV, then get back down to the drop off site, see if there's anything we missed. I'll come down and join you shortly. Can you take Mickey and Terry with you? Thanks Phil." Sam said as she made her way back through to her office.

Phil headed down to the yard, closely followed by the two DCs. They got into the CID car and drove to the docks. As they pulled up outside the crime scene, the CSE was still taking down evidence. As they got out of their car an officer approached them, not realizing they were also police officers. They showed him their warrant cards and the uniformed officer let them through.

"Uniform, always as thick as hell. Can't even tell when their senior and far more superior officers arrive." Phil snorted. Terry and Mickey just looked at each other and smirked. Everyone knew how prejudice Phil felt towards the uniformed branch, and he never tried to hide it.

Each officer split up, looking for any indication as to where Black could have taken Max Green. It was going to take a while, but they needed to get a result on this, and fast.

In the station Alex was ploughing through the CCTV. She was so in-grossed in the footage and looking for evidence, she hadn't noticed the time go past so quickly. She finally glanced at the clock on the wall and did a double take.

_Blimey it's half past ten already._ She thought. Her stomach grumbled angrily at her. She hadn't had anything to eat since the night before.

Almost as if on queue, Smithy walked in with two cups of coffee and a couple of dream rings from the canteen.

"Ah, you must have read my mind, I'm starving." Alex said as she took hold of her coffee and donut.

"'Ave you not had anything to eat all morning?" Smithy asked.

"Not since last night. Didn't feel hungry, 'till now that is." Alex replied as she tucked in to the sweet, creamy ring.

Smithy glared at her and shook his head. "That's no good. How do you expect to recover if you don't keep your strength up? Anyway, what you doing for lunch? I was hoping I could take you out somewhere." Smithy asked as he sat and drank his coffee.

"Nothing that I know of, so I will be glad to get lunch with you. Has Gina put you on light duties?" Alex asked through a mouthful of food.

"Yes she has, so she asked me to come and help you sift through this lot." Smithy replied pointing at the videos sat in front of them. "Have you found anything so far?"

"Not really, certainly nothing we can use. I just can't work out what happened. Max and Marcus have been 'the best of buddies' so I don't know why they've fallen out." Alex explained.

"Well Sam, Phil, Mickey and Terry are down there now looking for more evidence. Hopefully they'll be able to come up with some more information." Smithy said.

Sam got out of her car and approached Phil. He was looking round a couple of the warehouses.

"How are we getting on here?" She asked.

"We haven't found anything that we don't know already. The CSE haven't quite finished so some of the areas are still closed off." Phil explained.

At that moment Mickey came over with an evidence bag. Inside was a key fob belonging to a hotel.

"This was found over by the area that Green was shot. From the evidence there is, it looks like there was a struggle after Max was shot. We know that Black took Max Green in the commotion from the raid, so there's a strong possibility that the fob came from a key in his possession." Mickey explained. "The fob belongs to The Royal Blackburn Hotel; it's just off Vincent Street. If that is where Black has been staying then there may be some CCTV footage that can show where he went next. After all, that is the direction he was heading before we lost him. We may be able to pick him up near by."

"Good work Mickey, you've done well. I'll get on to Alex and see if she has anything from or near to Vincent Street." Sam said as she reached in to her pocket and pulled out her phone.

"Ok Sam, I'll give you a call as soon as I know anything." Alex replied as she hung up.

"What was that about?" Smithy asked feeling a little concerned.

"They've found a key fob belonging to a hotel on Vincent Street. They want us to go through the videos and see if we can't pick him up."

"Right, well you start with that pile and I'll get on with this lot." Smithy said, separating the large pile of videos.

An hour past before they even got close to finding anything. Alex was getting really frustrated. She desperately wanted to find the two men. Smithy wasn't having much luck. He had sat through almost 30 hours of footage and hadn't seen a thing.

Alex threw her pen on the desk and sighed. She got up and walked across to the window looking out onto the yard. Smithy looked at how distressed Alex was. He knew that she was hurting, a lot, and he knew how irritated she felt about not being actively involved in Max Greens arrest. Smithy had known Alex long enough to know how this was making her feel; she didn't need to tell him.

Smithy walked up behind Alex and placed his hand on her shoulder. He pulled her into his arms and held her close. Alex started to sob again. She didn't know why she wasn't able to control her emotions when she thought about Green and the fact he wasn't behind bars. Smithy stood there with Alex in his arms and let her sob into his chest. When she stopped crying she looked up at Smithy. Her face was tear stained and when they looked at Smithys' shirt it was wet from her tears.

"That was clean on this morning, I hope you appreciate that." Smithy said as he looked down at her.

Alex gave a little laugh and smiled at him. Smithy pulled her back into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

"We will get him you know; it just might take a bit of time. But I promise I won't give up until we do." Smithy comforted.

"I'm sorry Smithy. This is rather unfair to you isn't it. I shouldn't expect you to comfort your girlfriend when she is upset over her dead husband." Alex said as she dried her face.

"Don't be daft. I don't expect you to stop loving your husband or forget he existed.

You were together for something like ten years, married and had three children. I want you to still feel like you can talk to me. I hope our friendship isn't going to change just because we're dating." Smithy replied, looking at Alex as she dried her face.

He placed his hand on her cheek and brushed away a tear with his thumb.

"I hope our friendship doesn't change. You're one of my closest friends Smithy, someone who has always been there for me. I think we've both been through a lot and it's going to take a while for us to get there, but we will eventually." Alex said.

"Course we will. I still want you to talk to me about Paul, the girls and anything else that's on your mind. You've always been there for me as well and nothing will ever change that."

"Only if you promise to do the same. I want you to feel that you can talk to me about Kerry and Louise. I think this is only going to work if we're truly honest with each other." Alex explained.

"Yeah you're right. So have you told the girls about us yet?" Smithy asked.

"I told Cara last night. She took it really well, better than I thought she would actually. She really likes you so I think that makes a difference."

A noise from a passing officer made them both realize that they needed to get back to work. Reluctantly, Alex pulled away and sat back in her seat.

"Have you found anything yet?" She asked.

"Not yet. What 'bout you?" He replied.

"No nothing. I'll keep looking though. We're bound to find something eventually."

Smithy sat back at his desk and started looking through more of the videos.

After a short while Alex found something from one of the tapes.

"Smithy come here a minute. I think I may have found something."

Smithy walked over and sat in the chair next to Alex. She rewound some of the video and then played it back for him to see.

"Look closely at that red car. It's too blurred for us to get an index, but look at the guys in the car. They look really suspicious. I can't make out who it is but they pull up out side this lock up and go inside." Alex said.

"Yeah, and it doesn't look like that other guy is going voluntarily, does it?" Smithy pointed out.

"Right, I'll take this up to Sam and let her know. I'll see you in a bit, yeah?" She said as she made her way to the door.

"Catch you later." Smithy replied and winked at her as she left the room.

In CID Alex had explained to Sam and Neil what they had found. Sam sat and thought about their next move.

"Right lets get all available units down there now." Sam made for the door and headed down to towards Ginas office.

Together Gina and Sam arranged for a group of officers to go down to the lock up. They would be joined by armed officers, just to be on the safe side.

"Right Dan, Lewis, Rodger and Tony; I want you to come with DI Nixon and myself to a lock up at the back of Briston common. We believe that there are two suspects occupying one of the lock ups, and they're possibly armed. SO19 will be accompanying us but still be very careful. We'll make our way down to the van in 10 minutes, so if you get your kits." Gina dismissed her officers and made her way to the female changing rooms.

In the van the officers made there way to the lock up. They discussed exactly what they were going to do.

"SO19 are going in first. Once they have secured the place we will go in and make the arrests. We do not split away from the rest of the team at any point." Sam explained firmly to her colleagues.

As the van pulled up outside the lock up, raised voices could be heard coming from inside the building. The officers couldn't quite make out what they were shouting about, but when they stormed the lock up, all became apparent.

Marcus Black was holding a gun against Max Greens head. He was shouting at Green about how he had betrayed him. He looked nervous and very jumpy.

When SO19 aimed there weapons at them, Marcus became worse than before. He didn't know what to do. He continued to point the gun at Max but was looking at the armed officers.

"Armed police put your weapon on the ground and your hands in the air." The Sergeant shouted his orders, but Black refused to move.

"Please Marcus, don't do…" Max Green tried to plead.

"Shut up. You backstabbing bastard." Black shouted back before pulling the trigger.

Max Greens body slumped into a heap on the floor. Marcus Black then turned the gun on the officers as they looked on in horror.

"Put your weapon down and your hands in the air." One of the armed officers repeated.

"Come on then. Shoot me." Marcus said, raising the gun and taking aim at Sam.

The armed officers had no option but to shoot. The sound of gun shot rang round the lock up.

Outside Sam sighed and zipped off her bullet proof jacket. She looked around her and then stepped aside to let the coroners through to take away the bodies.

Jack got out of his car and walked towards his DI. Both looked at each other with grave disappointment and confusion.

"What happened?" Jack finally asked.

"To be honest, I don't know Gov'. We went to check the place out and arrest Max Green and Marcus Black. When we went into the lock up Black was holding a gun to Greens head. Before we knew it he had shot Green, SO19 had no choice then but to shoot Black. I don't know what we're going to tell Alex. It's not the kind of result she would have wanted." Sam said.

"No, I'm sure it's not the result any of us wanted but she'll understand." Jack replied.

"We'll let SOCO examine the area and get back to us with what they find. Until then you should go back to the station." Jack ordered.

A couple of weeks past since the incident at the lock ups. The CPS had decided to drop the case against those arrested, due to a lack of evidence. Alex sat in Ginas' office and listened as Gina explained the reasons why the case had collapsed.

"I'm sorry darlin' but the CPS felt that there wasn't enough evidence after Max and Marcus were shot. The case hasn't been dropped completely. CID are still looking into it and gathering evidence." Gina explained.

"Yeah I know, but I won't see the man who murdered my husband behind bars now. It would be nice to know why Black and Green fell out though." Alex replied.

"Yeah it is intriguing. Anyway, you need to put it to the back of your head now. Tell you what, do you fancy coming to the pub tonight?" Gina asked with a grin.

"Yeah why not. Well my first month at Sun Hill has certainly been…erm… eventful, hasn't it?" Alex said.

"You can say that again. And here's to many more" Gina said as she raised her coffee cup, toasting Alex.


	10. Chapter 10

The relief sat in the pub drinking, laughing and relaxing after another hard day. Alex and Smithy had been seeing each other for a couple of months now and everything was going really well for them.

Alex had finally come to terms, the best she could, with her husbands' death. Their friends at the station were quite surprised when they told them about their relationship, but they were happy for them.

It was only a few weeks before Christmas so the relief were in good spirits. It would be Alex and Smithys' first Christmas together and they were really looking forward to it.

As he had promised before he left, Adam was coming home for Christmas. Gina hadn't seen him since he left for Nigeria in September. They phoned and wrote to each other quite regularly. Both Alex and Gina were determined to make this Christmas one of their best yet.

"So Gina, when exactly are you expecting Adam home?" Alex asked.

"I'm due to pick him up this Friday. It'll be really great to have him home for Christmas. Our first Christmas together, again." Gina explained.

"Yeah, and it's mine and Smithys' first Christmas together too." Replied Alex.

"How are things between you two?"

"Good. Really…really good." Alex said as she looked at Smithy.

Smithy was standing with Will and Dan. He was discussing football, by the looks of it. Talking about tactics, teams and leagues. Kezia walked over with a couple of beers for them.

"Hi guys, how's it going?" She said. Clearly she had had one too many.

After about an hour, Alex started to feel very tired and hungry. She went to find her coat and her bag and decided to head for home.

"Gina are you coming? I'm starting to feel tired and I think that's enough for me for one night." Alex asked whilst trying to stifle a yawn.

"Yeah come on let's go. Can't have your poor mother looking after your daughters all night can we?" Gina replied, grinning mischievously.

"Ah ha, and the real reason we can't leave my daughters with my mother all night?" Alex mock glared.

"Because I want them all to myself tonight." Gina smiled.

"There we go. Right, I'll just say goodbye to Smithy and then we'll get going." Alex walked off to see where Smithy was.

Smithy was standing outside the pub talking to Kezia. Both were a little worse for wear but were still managing to drink yet another pint. Smithy smiled when he saw Alex walking towards them.

"Hey Smithy. That's enough for me tonight. Gina and I are heading home so I'll see you tomorrow." Alex said as she kissed him on the cheek.

Kezia left to give the young couple some privacy and they ravished the chance to be alone.

"Aw, do I get a proper kiss goodbye now?" Smithy said in his drunken slur.

Alex took a step closer towards Smithy and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Well I don't know about that sunshine, depends on how good you have been." Alex joked.

Smithy looked around him to see if anyone was looking, he then placed his lips on Alexs' and slowly kissed her. Alex embraced his kiss and they lost themselves in each others arms. Their kiss was so passionate that they didn't notice Gina coming out of the pub.

"Alright you put him down; you don't know where he's been." She commented as she walked out.

Alex pulled away and both she and Smithy glared at her. Gina grinned and rolled her eyes.

"Well I guess we will see you in the morning then Smithy." Alex said as she gave him one last quick kiss.

Smithy stood and watched as Alex and Gina drove off out of the pub car park. He was enjoying the rest of his pint when he was rejoined by Kezia.

"Alright then Smithy?" She slurred.

"Yeah I'm fantastic thank you. You?" He replied, his words as equally slurred.

"Yeah I'm fine ta. So what are your plans for tonight then?" She asked as she took a sip of her drink.

"Not a lot. I'm just going to go home and get an early night. I'm probably going to have a banging headache in the morning." He replied, finishing the last of his pint. "Are you getting a cab home?" He asked.

"No, my flat is just round the corner from here so I'll walk. Never know, might sober me up a little." Kezia laughed.

"Well I'll see you in the morning then Kez." He replied.

Kezia waved him goodbye and started walking towards her flat. She was so drunk however that she fell off the curb in her drunken state. Smithy, being the kind gentleman he was, ran over to her.

"Kezia, are you alright?" He asked as he bent down beside her.

Kezia just sat on the floor and laughed. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Help me up." She said as she extended her arm for help.

Smithy pulled her up and Kezia grabbed hold of him to steady herself. As she did so she looked up at him flirtatiously. Smithy stood above her and looked into her eyes. She then drunkenly kissed him passionately. Realising who he was kissing, Smithy pulled away quickly.

"What's the matter Smith?" Kezia looked up at him, hurt at his rejection.

"Alex, that's the problem. I'm with Alex and we're both really happy together. It's nothing personal but if we go any further Alex would be devastated. I don't want to hurt her." Smithy said.

"Fine then Smithy I'll see you tomorrow." Kezia replied as she stormed off.

Smithy rested his head in his hand. What was he going to tell Alex? She would be hurt if he told her, but devastated if he didn't. Deciding to go home and think on it, Smithy walked off out of the car park. Suddenly he felt very sober and a new sensation washed over him; guilt.

**Well guys that is that for now. What will Alex say when she finds out? If you want to read what happens next then you'll have to wait for my next story. But don't worry; you won't have to wait for long. Thanks. x**


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